Down force on tow hitch

[blu]

G'day if this has bin done b4 say so but just a thaught..:-/
How much weight is on YOUR tow hitch mines 3.1 kg...
what is max weight is there a min???

[finga]

what sort of boat and weight??

[Searaider 2]

Geday blu ,
Tinka trailers recommends 10% of the total weight of your rig as the required load on your tow ball .

But you will also have to check that this isn't over the max down load rating ( downward load ) of your tow ball/bar ??

Unless its an old low bar there will be a specification plate on it that states the maxium towing capacity & also the tow ball load capacity .

You need enough weight on you tow ball to try & push your back wheels onto the road when breaking , If its not enough , when you hit the breakes it will try & lift the back of the` car .

Also If you dont have enough load on the Tow ball , it can cause the trailer to sway .

Hope this helps .
Peter
SEaraider 2

[blu]

thanks to boath of you found plate
and boat is 4.8 savage osprey

[Luc]

I would think that for that size rig. 3.1 Kg is way too light.

31 Kg would be more like it.

Luc

[Black_Rat]

Blu not sure what you mean by tow hitch but my Navara has 3.5t stamped on the tow ball ?

[FNQCairns]

3.1kg would make for a noisy tow with the hitch fidgeting all over the ball also bet you cannot walk down the back of your boat without the trailer doing a wheel stand.
Your rig would be 1.1 -1.2T? I would consider around 60kg? as it's a fairly light tow anyway.

cheers fnq

[impulse492f]

The 10% rule goes for my tow ball on the commodore , the plate states 1200km towing weight with 120km max on the tow ball.

[bungie]

My marine mechanic told me " a good grunt when you lift the hitch"

[Roughasguts]

Blu, you got a spare wheel if not get one, and stick it on the front of your trailer. That ought to take care of it being to light.

[Angla]

I tow a 5.75 metre outsider and the tow bar says maximum weight on hitch should be 100kg and the maximum towing capacity is 2500Kg

I have about 75-100 kg of weight on the bar

Chris

[northernblue]

Blu not sure what you mean by tow hitch but my Navara has 3.5t stamped on the tow ball ?

Mate, that is the rating of your ball ;)

Now check the tow hitch frame and see what that says, [prob 2.5 tonne or less]

[Poseidon]

My wife's commodore and my falcon have a max tow-ball rate of around 165kg.

After reading this thread yesterday and seeing some of the weights indicated I went into the garage and measured the ball weight of my 4.35 tinnie and found it to be 113kg, no wonder I couldn't lift it. It is 3mm aluminium but to me 113kg was too much. Looking at the axle it seemed to be well back on the trailer.

So, jack the rear of trailer up and put on axle stands so both wheels are clear of the ground. Use the jockey wheel at the front as the other support (trailer still connected to car for stability). Moved the axle support frame about 100mm forward then placed the wheels back onto the ground.

Reweigh the ball weight and get the answer of 85 kg, far better.

So just moving the axle a small distance can change the weight considerably.

Regards Cameron.